Rob Gross

Sharing one of the valuable things I learned from super-lawyer Brian Gordon in his webinar "Key Legal Issues for Early Stage Companies" today: I asked Brian during Q&A: "What are the biggest mistakes that early stage entrepreneurs make that lead to legal problems?" Brian's insights: "Having a founder who isn't committed. The founder group is like a marriage. And if it doesn't work out with one of the founders, it's basically like a founder divorce, and that can be hard. The biggest mistake is not building in procedures, such as for vesting. Make sure that in order to get X% each founder is worth if the company is successful, that they have to put in the right amount of time." Extending that, my best advice in choosing co-founders, based on my own experience in business: 1) Look for a good match. Choose wisely and your startup life can be blissful (I'm grateful that I've had good experiences in this regard). Choose poorly and it can be difficult and expensive to undo. 2) Practical and tactical: choose co-founders who not only have complementary technical/business skills, but who also have shared values and who have good conflict resolution skills. 3) Then communicate openly. Use good human relations in working with each other. Resolve conflicts in a constructive way, and early while they are small, before they become larger and more difficult. Finally, I've worked with Brian Gordon a couple of times. He's a business attorney who I respect. I've been impressed with how he's given back to the Atlanta startup community over the years. Enthusiastically recommend.

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